Chiguer art contemporain invites you to discover the exhibition Les abstractions impertinentes by Laurent Craste in our Quebec City space. This series is the outcome of the artist’s novel experimental explorations, both visually and technically. Drawing from modern art and geometric abstraction, Craste extends the boundaries of his medium by introducing novel interventions to porcelain.
“In the current production, the vase fades, yet the object often remains assaulted. A geometric shape endures the abuses in its place: it is modernism that is the subject of critique, as in Abstraction impertinente I or Le sacrifice II. In this body of work, the column, as a representative of the decorative, gradually takes the place of the vase. Disorder reigns in the typical arrangements of the decorative, with the column not supporting a bust but an object in decay.
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In Abstraction sur abstraction II, the pyramid and pedestal are perfect volumes that highlight the contrast with the red object placed upon them, which might be interpreted as a tongue, a worm (or worse), appearing visceral and almost slimy. Here, the pure and the impure, the geometric and the organic, the non-color serving the color (the black and white enhancing the red) abruptly converge. One may also draw broader conclusions: the art craft as an assaulted discipline, in dialectical opposition with design – neither can be separated, they refer back to one another, thereby blurring categories, deceiving the gaze, and thus denying the hierarchical system between artistic crafts, design, and artwork. The notions of beauty and waste are relativized by the contextualization of the decorative arts. The art craft as a conduit of beauty is thus rejected as such and pushed towards an aesthetic of ironic deformation. Craste’s upcoming works will indicate the direction of these new risks.”
– Pascale Beaudet, Ph. D.
French-born, Laurent Craste has been living and working in Montreal for over 27 years. His work is included in the collections of the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, La Piscine – Musée d’art et d’industrie André-Diligent in France, the Everson Museum of Art in the United States, the Musée des maîtres et artisans du Québec, the Art Gallery of Burlington, the Musée Bertrand, as well as several other institutions and private collections in Canada, the United States, and Europe.
